Wireless communications systems that use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to synchronize their base sites are limited to timing accuracies only to within 340 nanoseconds. This accuracy is insufficient for implementations of the Emergency 911 location service required by the U.S. federal government. In fact, to have mobile units perform self-location cheaply requires synchronized broadcasts by base sites, accurate to approximately 30 nanoseconds. Prior art solutions such as equipping mobile units with GPS receivers or deploying differential GPS (DGPS) equipment and subscribing to DGPS service are not economically viable in the competitive wireless marketplace. GPS receivers would add at least $30 to the cost of each mobile unit, while DGPS equipment and subscriptions would need to be purchased for each base site. Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method of economically synchronizing base sites in wireless communication systems.